Sanitary chicken roost



w. F. CHRISTOPHER SANITARY CHICKEN ROOST 7 Dec. 8. 1925. 1,564,324"

Filed March 24, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 8 1925- 1,564,324 w. F.CHRISTOPHER SANITARY CHICKEN RQOST 3 Sheets-Sheet .3

Filed March 24, 1925 Patented Dec. 8, 1925 UNITED STATES WILLIAM F.CHRISTOPHER, OF LA FORTE CITY, IOWA.

SANITARY CHICKEN BOOST.

Application filed March 24, 1925. Serial No. 17,973.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM F. CHRIs'ro- PHER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at La Porte City, in the county of Black Hawk and Stateof Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SanitaryChicken Roosts, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawing.

The present invention relates to chicken roosts, and aims to provide aroost structure which is sanitary, being provided with disinfectingmeans, and which may be conveniently cleaned.

Another object of the invention is the pro vision of a novel perchincluding mean for holding a disinfectant or insecticide so thatparasites are destroyed or kept away, and

the perch being composed of a novel assemblage of elements for theintended purposes. Another object is the provision of novel means forcleaning the dropping board and for applying disinfectant or insecticidethereto for purpose of sanitation.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of perches anddropping board cleaning means which may be actuated conveniently forsimultaneously disinfecting the perches and dropping board.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be apparent asthe description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction andarrangement of parts, as

hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes canbe made, within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from thespirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein-Figure 1 is aside elevation of the improved chicken roost structurewithin a chicken house, portions being broken away and shown in section.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the structure, portions being broken away andthe house being shown in horizontal section.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3 -3 of Fig. 2 with the boardcleaning. means in operation. a

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross section of, one of the perches.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross section of the scraper and disinfectanttank.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of said scraper an tank, portions being brokenaway, and portions shown in section on the line 66 of F ig. 5. i

V Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the trough of one of the perches, aportion being broken away. 7 1

The roost structure is enclosed in a chicken house 9, and a suitablenumber of perches are provided. Each perch includes a trough 10 havingthe end plates or members 11 which are secured to a pair of inclinedbars or supports 12 of the roost frame. of wood or, other suitablematerial is'disposed snugly in the trough 10 with its upper portionabove the trough, and said trough is concaved transversely to snugly fitthe rod, thereby enabling the claws of the chickens to obtain holdsaround the rod 13 and trough 10. The roller or rod 13 is' mounted onashaft 14 which is journaled through the supports or bars 12, the endplates 11 of the trough having notches 15 in their upper edges in whichthe shaft 14 is seatedfor rotation, and the rod 13 seats frictionally inthe trough to prevent said rod from rotating too freely. The rod 13 isof sufficiently small diameter so as to provide a convenient perch forthe chickens, and the trough 10 assists in supporting the rod againstdepression under the weight of the chickens thereon, especially if theperch is long. Y

The perch has provision for holding a disinfectant or. insecticide.Thus, the trough 10 is provided at its bottom with a downwardly offsetportion 16 forming a groove or channel to hold the liquid disinfectant,and a wick or filler 17 of absorbent material is provided in said groovefor holding the disinfectant and applying it to the surface of the rod13 at the bottom thereof. Thus, when the rod is'rotated itscircumference will be coated with a film of disinfectant. Thedisinfectant on the perches and fumes given off will serve to destroy ordrive away parasites that infest the chickens at night.

The rods "13 of all of the perches ma be rotated simultaneously. Thus,each sha t 1 1 has a bevel gear 18 at one end, and said gears meshwith'bevelgears 19 on a shaft 20 at the outer side of and parallel withthe-cor responding bar 12, said bar having bearings 20- in which theshaft 20 is journaled for bars 12 near the lower ends thereof. The shaft23 has a crank 24 which may be conveniently rotated by hand, 'so thatall of the perch rods 13 are r'otated'at the same time, when it isdesired to disinfect the perches.

It will be noted that the rods 13 being fitted snugly in the troughswill cover or close the grooves or channels 16-, so as to avoidexcessive discharge of disinfect-ant, and when the rods are rotated thinfilms of disinfectant will be applied to the surfaces thereof so as tobe exposed at the topsof the rods.

A dropping board 25 is located below the perches, and slopes rearwardly,with the'rear end extending through or to an opening 26 in the back wallof the house 9, said opening 26 being normally closed by a door orclosure 27 which is hinged so as to be swungopen when cleaningthe-board'25. A horizontal shaft 28 is mounted for rotation at the lowerend of the board 25, with. the-shaft 23 1c cated at the upper end ofsaid board. Sprocket wheels 29 are secured on said shafts near theopposite ends thereof, and

' endless sprocket "chains 30 pass around said sprocket wheels and arelocated'below the ends of the perches or at the side edges of the board25. The chains 30car1flv a scraper 31 for cleaning the board 25,although it will be understood that two or more scrapers may be used ifdesired. The scraper 31 comprises an angle iron as shown, having theupper flange 32 with its ends protruding and secured on links of thechain 30, as at 33, with the other flange 34: providing a scraper bladeto move over the upper surface of the board 25. Thus, when thecrank "24is totated in the proper direction the scraper 31 is moved rearwardlyacross the board 25 to scrape the droppings rearwardly and dischargethem through the opening 26, the door 27 having been opened for thatpurpose. At the same time, the rods 13 0f the perches are rotated, sothatboth the cleaning means and perches are operated simultaneously.This provides for a saving in time and labor, and it is alsopossible tooperate theshaft 23 by an electric motor or other prime mover ifdesired.

At the same time that the scraper 31 moves over the board 25,disinfectant is applied to said board. Thus, an elongated disinfectanttank or reservoir 35 is carried by the scraper 31, said tank beingembraced by bands 36 having their terminals overlapping and secured tothe flange or blade 34-, as at 37. The tank 35 has a removable cap orclosure 38 to enable the tank to befi'lled with scraper is movedrearwardly across the .board' 25, as "seen in Fig. 1, thereby invertingthe scraper and tank, and the apertures 39 of the tank will therefore beat the top so as to avoid further discharge of disinfectant while thecleaning means is normally idle.

hen the scraper is operated so as to move it above the board 25, thetank 35 being moved with the scraper will be turned over, as the scrapermoves from below to a posit-ion above the board, and the disinfectantwill immediately drip from the tank as long as the scraper is operatedabove the board 25. This provides for the automatic discharge ofthedisinfectant from the tank 35 when the scraperis operated over theboard, and the automatic shut off of the discharge when the scraper ismoved out of the way under the board.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1- 1. Aroost structure comprising perches, a dropping board below said perches,a scraper, and means for mounting the scraper for "circuitous movementover and under said board.

2. A roost structure comprising perches, a dropping board below saidperches, sprocket wheels mounted at opposite ends of said board,sprocket chain's passing around said wheels, and a scraper carried bysaid chains to move over and under the board.

3. A roost structure comprising perches, a dropping board below them, ascraper, means for mounting the scraper for movement over the board andto a position out of the way, and disinfectant applying means carried bythe scraper and arranged todischarge disinfectant to said board when thescraper is moved over the board and to stop the discharge ofdisinfectant when the scraper is moved to said out of the way position.

4;. A roost structure comprising perches, a dropping board below them, ascraper, means for mounting said scraper for movement over the board,and a disinfectant tank carried bythe scraper and having dischargeapertures for the drippingjof the disinfectant behind the scraper.

5. A roost structure comprising perches, a dropping board below them,ascraper, a disinfectant tank movable with the scraper having dischargeapertures, and means for mounting said scraper and tank to move thescraper over said board with said apertures of the tank lowermost andfor moving the scraper and tank out of the way andinverting the tankwith the apertures thereof uppermost.

6. A roost structure comprising perches,

a dropping board below them, sprocket wheels at opposite ends of theboard, sprocket chains passing around said sprocket wheels, a scrapercarried by said chains to move over and below the board, and adisinfectant tank carried by the scraper having discharge apertureslocated lowermost when the scraper is above the board and locateduppermost with the tank inverted when the scraper is moved below theboard.

7. A perch comprising a transversely concaved trough, a rotatable rod insaid trough, the edge portions of the trough fitting the rod, the troughhaving a downwardly offset portion along the bottom thereof forming agroove, and an absorbent wick fitted in said groove and bearing upwardlyagainst the bottom of the rod.

8. A roost structure comprising rotary perch rods, a dropping boardbelow sald 0 rods, disinfectant holding means below the rods andcontacting therewith to apply disinfectant to said rods when rotated, ascraper movable over said board, and operating means connected to saidscraper and rods for 2

